The Honesty in the Partnership
by boneslove14
Summary: Secrets can threaten more than a relationship, secrets can threaten lives.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Bones or any characters.

This is an alternate storyline story. It takes place after Vincent was murdered and when Booth and Bones are a couple, but before the finale announcement.

Chapter One: Blood at Breakfast

_Why is her door open? _Booth wondered as he reached Bones' apartment. Maybe she saw him come in the building from her window.

"Bones?...Bones? I'm sorry about yesterday. I brought breakfast. You know, you really shouldn't leave your door op-"

_Splat _

Booth dropped the coffees he'd been holding and stopped cold in his tracks when he saw the blood. A deadly red puddle was in Bones' front hallway.

"BONES! Where are you?!" he screamed as he made his way through her apartment. The scene was making him anxious. When he made it through every room without finding her, he shoved away any emotions he was feeling and went into FBI mode to call it in.

"This is Special Agent Seeley Booth. There's been a break-in and possible abduct—", Booth had to take a breath with the word," abduction. The victim is Dr. Temperance Brennan. Request backup to her apartment."

Booth's eyes caught the blood puddle in the living room again. It was large enough to make him terrified but too small to be from a fatal injury. With his emotions high, the sight of what could be Bones' blood made his stomach churn and he ran to her bathroom. After emptying his stomach, he went to the rinse his mouth out at the sink when something on the edge of the counter caught his attention. He picked up the small plastic stick. Pure joy followed immediately by incredible fear washed over him as he saw the pink positive sign.

_Oh my God._ Booth was trying his best to keep it together before, but this new development put him over the edge. Booth could feel himself losing it but he couldn't risk compromising the crime scene so he ran down the 3 flights of stairs and outside of her apartment. He buckled under his own weight and his knees hit the pavement as he screamed, "BONES!"

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**24 Hours Earlier**

"That's ridiculous." Bones was exasperated with Booth. They were having lunch at the diner and arguing as usual. Booth had insinuated that Bones was going to break up with him.

"Well, all the signs lead to that. You've been distant; you never want to see me. I had to practically drag you to lunch today." Booth had had his heart broken enough times to know when it was coming. But if Bones was about to end their relationship, he didn't know if he could survive that. He wanted to know why she was upset so they could fix whatever it was.

"Booth, I love you. You love me. Why would I end our relationship?" Bones knew she had been avoiding Booth but she couldn't tell him why. Not yet at least.

"I do love you. And I hope you still love me but when you avoid me, it makes me think there's a reason. So what's the reason Bones?"

_BeepBeepBeepBeep _Bones got a text message.

"That's the Jeffersonian Booth. I have to get back to work"

"Wait a minute. We need to talk about this."

"I'm sorry but they need me back now."

"Can I at least come over tonight so we can talk?" Booth didn't want to sound desperate but he was basically pleading to Bones.

"Sure, sure. I'll see you later."

And then Bones ran out the door. She didn't even kiss Booth goodbye. They had been in a relationship for 5 months now, since the fateful night after Vincent was murdered. They could no longer deny their feelings for each other. They'd since exchanged keys and "I love you's." Until their recent distance, Booth thought his long awaited dream had come true. Then, Bones started being "too busy" to go to dinner or "too tired" for him to come over. He had barely seen her in the past couple of weeks. Originally he thought she was just working too hard, so he gave her some space. But they wrapped up their last case over a week ago and nothing had changed. Distance and avoidance spelled heartbreak to Booth. He couldn't lose Bones. They could never go back to just being partners. If she was going to rip his heart to shreds then she needed to get it over with. He was lying to himself though. It wouldn't matter how she did it. He would do anything to stop her. He knew in his heart that they were meant to be together. He would go over to her apartment tonight and they'd work through whatever they needed to.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Heartbreak on the Phone

**That night**

"I'm sorry Booth, but I've had a long day and I just want to go to bed," Bones said with a yawn into the phone. She could barely keep her eyes open enough to drive home, let alone be awake enough to fight with Booth some more.

"You promised we could talk tonight. I'm getting tired of you avoiding me. Partners are supposed to be honest with each other. Just tell me what's going on. Please Bones."

Booth's pleading words filled Bones with guilt. She loved him and never wanted to hurt him. But she could hear the pain in his voice. She was responsible for this pain. However, she needed time right now to process. She couldn't tell him everything yet.

"Nothing's going on Booth. I just had a long day at work. Identifying the remains of 17th Century Monks can be exhausting work."

"I know when you're lying. I just never thought you'd lie to me Bones. Not after all we've been through. Not after knowing how much I care about you." Booth sighed heavily into the phone and when he spoke again Bones could hear his anger in every word.

"I can't do _this_ anymore if you can't be honest and open with me." Booth hadn't meant to say that. He hadn't meant to sound like he could just walk away from this, from her. But he did say it and his words hung in the air. He pressed the receiver closer to his ear, afraid to miss what her response was. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of her sob.

Just one shocked sob escaped her lips as it barreled out from her chest. Had he just said he can't be with her anymore? That's what she heard. She tried to compose herself long enough to respond. She could only hope he couldn't hear her crying since he couldn't see the tears streaming down her face.

"If you are unhappy with our relationship and feel like you need out I guess there's nothing I can say. I just want you to know that I know I've been difficult for a few weeks"— Bones' voice cracked as the reality of situation became unbearable—"but I've never stopped loving you."

Booth could feel his heart tear a little. He had never intended for this conversation to turn into what it was now with their relationship on the line. Mostly he loathed himself for making her cry; he could hear the sadness in her voice. He could give her a little time to work through whatever it was she was hiding. He just hated that she didn't trust him enough to tell him. If they couldn't be open with each other their chances of being together forever weren't good. But he would do anything to keep them together, even if it meant swallowing his pride and letting her have space to work things out on her own.

"I will always love you Bones. We can-"

_Click_

Booth kept the phone up to his ear, listening to the silence. He had pushed Bones too hard. He would give her space tonight and in the morning he would head to her place so they could sort this out. He finally hit _END _on his phone, and slid into bed. He could feel a restless night coming.

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Bones hung up on Booth because she wanted those to be the last words she heard before she went to sleep. She didn't blame him for being angry. She had been avoiding him for weeks. At first she was just agitated with everyone but then she realized why. She had been exhausted for two weeks. Throwing up every morning. She knew what fatigue, morning sickness and a late period meant. But she couldn't bring herself to take the test. She glanced over at the passenger seat where the test she had just bought taunted her. The real reason she bailed on Booth tonight was so she could face reality. It wouldn't be such a big deal if she was pregnant. It was Booth's and hadn't she wanted Booth's baby just a few years ago. Being in a loving relationship and having a baby just weren't things Bones had ever imagined she would have. Now that both might be happening, she needed a second to breathe. Once there was undeniable evidence that she was carrying Booth's baby, she couldn't hide from it anymore. There would be something to lose.

She had lost so much in her life: her mother, her childhood. She thought the best way to protect herself was to not have anything worth losing. But then she met Booth. And although it took them years to be in a good place and to be in love, she couldn't imagine her life without him. Now the prospect of having her own family terrified her. She wouldn't survive losing Booth or this baby. Temperance Brennan would not live in fear though. She grabbed the test, went to her apartment and walked into her bathroom. She opened the kit and waited the 3 longest minutes of her life, watching for the slightest change on the stick. Finally she smiled through the fresh tears streaming down her face as she saw a little pink positive sign.

_I'll tell Booth first thing in the morning. I'll make everything right_, Bones promised the baby as she lay in bed. She knew the fetus couldn't hear anything this early, yet not being alone in this moment helped Bones fall asleep.

"Good night baby" Bones whispered, keeping her hands lovingly on her stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Doctor in the Room

Booth tried to steady his breathing. He couldn't panic if he was going to find Bones. Bones, who was carrying his baby. Her recent behavior made sense now. Her moodiness and distance. How had he missed this? He had been so focused on how her actions made him feel that he never thought about _why_ she was acting the way she was. She would be freaking out. And he knew she would wait to tell him until she was sure. Why hadn't he come over last night after she hung up?! He had thought about it, but ultimately decided just to come over in the morning. Now she was God knows where, possibly injured. Where in the hell were the crime scene guys? They needed to find a lead, anything that could tell him where she was. He didn't trust himself in her apartment. He'd tear the place upside down to find answers but he knew he would only end up destroying evidence that could help.

Moments later, FBI personnel showed up to tape off the apartment and debrief Booth.

"I told you, I walked in, the door was open and I saw blood. I walked through the rooms looking for her, but I didn't touch or disturb anything." Booth was lying. He wasn't going to tell them that he had tossed his cookies or about the pregnancy test. If either was relevant after they found evidence then he'd bring it up, but for now he couldn't tell anyone.

"I'm sorry about this Seeley. You know we'll do everything we can to recover Dr. Brennan as quickly as possible."

"I know Charlie, thanks." Booth sat back on the stoop, racking his brain for possible suspects or motives. He and Bones had put a lot of bad guys away and they each had survived life threatening attacks. This time was different though. This time it wasn't just Bones' life in danger. It was their baby's life too. Booth filled with rage at thought of Bones or his baby coming to any harm and could no longer sit on the stoop. He headed to the Jeffersonian to get help from the smartest people he knew.

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Bones opened her eyes slowly. The searing pain in the back of her head made her ears ring. Looking around she found she was in a small windowless room with grimy walls. The only light source was a single bare bulb a couple feet above her. She was lying on a dirty mattress on a cold concrete floor. Bottles of water and boxes of granola bars were piled next to her along the wall. The only way in or out of the room was a large wooden door with a pad lock. Bones thought about getting up and charging the door like Booth had taught her, but two things stopped her. She would never risk harming the baby, and her head injury kept her from getting up. Just trying to sit up made her nauseas. Or was it morning sickness.

"Please fetus, don't make me sick right now. I'm trying to figure out where we are." Bones said this knowing that the hormones were making her nauseas, not the fetus and that it still couldn't hear or comprehend her. But just like last night, just having someone else there with her made the situation better; especially when that someone was her baby.

_I have to stay calm_, Bones told herself. Panicking wouldn't change anything. _First I need to dress this wound on my head_. Bones winced as she gingerly assessed the open wound. It was quite deep and still bleeding. She had no idea how it happened or how long she had been losing blood. She did know by the weakness she felt that the wound was serious and needed immediate attention.

"Excuse me, whoever abducted me, I need medical attention. If you don't wish to add murder charges to your breaking and entering and abduction charges, I suggest you get me to a hospital immediately."

When there was no response to her words, she grabbed the pillow case off the only pillow on the mattress and pressed it to her head. She was afraid to sleep in case she had a traumatic brain injury so she sat up, leaning against the wall. Oh, how she wished Booth had come over last night. He would have been there this morning when she was taken and he could have saved her. Her memory of the abduction was fuzzy; obviously she had been knocked out. The last thing she remembered was lying in bed. The sound of her front door opening had woken her up. She looked at the clock, it was 4:47 A.M. Assuming it was Booth, she got up and headed for the living room. She had called out but there was no answer. By the time she thought the situation could be dangerous a hooded figure was striking her in the head. Now she was trapped in this filthy room with an open head wound and no way out. She wanted to be strong and not show any fear to her abductor but a horrible realization made her shiver. She wasn't sure that she would ever see Booth again, let alone tell him about the baby. She could die in this hell hole with her baby and he would never know. This thought proved to be too much for Bones and she started to pass out. She fought the darkness surrounding her but in the end she slumped onto the mattress.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Threat in the Trash

Booth was in Bones' office. He had filled in Cam, Angela, and Hodgins about the abduction. He told them about everything: the blood, the pregnancy test, their fight. He knew his best shot at finding her soon would be them and that they'd need all of the details. Cam went to work intercepting the evidence the FBI had collected so she could run any analysis and Hodgins stood by ready to start testing any samples. Angela started going through all the old case files, looking for possible suspects. Booth decided checking Bones' office would be the best thing for him to do. He sat in her desk chair. The sweater on the back of chair smelled like her and that made Booth focus hard on the task at hand. He went through the recent documents on her computer and in her paper trays. The only people mentioned were 17th and 18th century remains. No recent murder cases were anywhere in sight. Booth, frustrated with the dead-end, kicked her trashcan across the room. Looking at the mess, he knew Bones couldn't stand mess, he started picking everything up. He put paper after paper back into the trashcan until a crumpled, small card with red ink caught his eye. It was the kind of card that came with flowers. He knew he hadn't sent Bones any flowers since their first month of dating. He looked around the office but didn't see any bouquets. Finally he unfolded the card and read:

You'll always be mine

-J

Booth seethed with anger. He didn't believe Bones was cheating, she had thrown the card away and the flowers were gone. He was angry because someone was bothering her and she didn't tell him about it. She didn't tell him and she threw it away like it was nothing. She should have told him so they could increase security and find the bastard who sent it. How many times had she received unwanted attention that made her uncomfortable and not told him about? Putting his anger aside, he slipped on a latex glove and took Angela the note. She scanned it for fingerprints but only Brennan's were on it.

"They must have worn gloves."

"Did you know about this?"

"No! Of course not. You know she's not cheating," Angela said deliberately. Brennan loved Booth more than anything. She couldn't believe some creep was sending Brennan flowers and she hadn't told anyone. Getting things into her office was too far.

"Yea I know that. I'm not accusing her of that anyway. I just can't believe she didn't tell me about it. I'm just trying to understand why she's been keeping so many secrets. First the baby and now this. I'm trying to focus on finding her, but at every turn another secret comes out." Booth plopped onto the couch in Angela's office. He pinched the bridge of his nose to keep his emotions in check.

"I know it's overwhelming and terrifying right now Booth. But we're going to find her. We will." Angela was trying to put all her emotions aside in order to find her best friend. This was an impossible feat because knowing that Brennan had finally gotten her happy ending, loving man and baby, only to be taken away. It was almost too much to bear. A small part of her felt hurt that Brennan hadn't told her about the creep or the baby but she knew Brennan always needed to work things out in her head. Angela needed to put all of her energy in finding Brennan. She had no idea how Booth was holding it together. He had always had a rough exterior but Brennan softened him. Now his whole world was crumbling down.

"Keep looking through the cases." Booth said as he walked out of her office. Booth was at his wit's end. It was going on 14 hours since he had spoken to Bones. He knew every minute that passed made his chances of getting to her go down substantially.

"Seeley, you need to come here." Cam called to Booth.

"What did you find?"

"You may want to sit down."

"Just tell me! No kid gloves."

Cam exhaled, preparing herself to share her startling discovery. "We received the samples from the pool of blood. It is Dr. Brennan's."

The color drained from Booth as he gripped the back of the chair until his knuckles turned as white as his face. He had been holding on to the hope that Bones had injured her abductor amd that was their blood on the floor. Knowing that she's injured somewhere took the breathe from Booth's chest.

"There's something else." Cam didn't want to tell Seeley the other part but she had to.

"What." Booth said as he put his head in his hands. He didn't want to hear what Cam was going to say next because he knew it couldn't be good.

"There was more than just blood on the floor. Tiny skull fragments were also in the sample."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Whoever took Dr. Brennan hit her so hard that her skull fractured and she left part of it at her apartment."

"Christ! She can still be alive though, right?" Booth's voice pleaded.

"Yes. She's most likely alive. The pieces of skull were very tiny. But she will be bleeding profusely. The drying of some of the blood puts the attack around 5A.M. or about 2 hours before you got to her apartment. The main concern is the head wound. And the stress of a head injury to the baby is concerning. If her abductor didn't get her immediate medical care….."

"If they didn't, then what Cam?"

"Then chances of finding Dr. Brennan and the baby alive are slim."

Booth punched the wall in Cam's office and then stalked out of the Jeffersonian and headed for his SUV. If he had been there last night or even just a couple hours sooner, he would have been with Bones and none of this would be happening. But instead two lives that mattered most to him were being threatened. He wasn't going to waste another minute. He ignored the pain in his right hand and headed to the Hoover. There, he gathered as many agents that were available. Hacker gave him free reign to do whatever he needed to do to find Bones.

Booth had everyone go through all the case files and documented threats. There had to be something he was missing that could lead him to Bones.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Survival in the Mother

Brennan awoke with a start. Violent shivers ran through her whole body and literally shook her awake. Her head wound had finally stopped bleeding but it appeared that her body was starting to go into shock. Bones feared that the stress of her current situation would hurt the baby. She still had not heard anything from her abductor or any noise at all for that matter. The room was probably soundproof. Bones drank two bottles of water, slowly trying to ward off dehydration. She wrapped the thin blanket tightly around herself and tried to stop shivering.

_How am I going to get out of here? _Bones thought as she hugged the blanket closer to her body. "It's okay" she whispered to the baby. She wanted to believe her voice could soothe the baby and protect it from how her own body was reacting. The pregnancy had already changed something in her. She had always been independent and able to defend _herself_ but now she felt a fierce need to protect this baby, her and Booth's baby. In this moment she knew she would do anything to keep her baby safe. The best thing she could do now was to stay hydrated and rest. She knew she would have to figure out a plan soon if she was going to make it back to Booth alive.

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"WHAT AM I MISSING?! Booth yelled in frustration as he made his way through the case files for a fourth time. He had a team of agents going through the crime scene, looking into possible suspects but he couldn't just sit around and wait for them to find her. So Booth pulled their most dangerous cases and poured over them for any minute detail that could help him track Bones. Her abductor could be someone they had put away, a family member of someone they put away, a crazed fan of her books, or just a random sociopath. The last one sent shivers down his spine because a sociopath would likely have no mercy, even on a pregnant woman.

Pregnant woman. Describing Bones as a pregnant woman caused so many mixed emotions for Booth. He was of course happy beyond belief that he and Bones were going to have a family but due to the current circumstances, he could barely stomach the thought that he could lose not only the love of his life but also their unborn child. This thought brought Booth to the emotional edge and threatened to push him over. He only kept himself together by thinking about how happy his family will be once he found Bones. Picturing a holiday with Bones, their baby and Parker brought Booth out of his grief and made him focus solely on finding Bones.

He couldn't find anything of use in the case files he had pulled so he decided to head to the Jeffersonian and see what the squints had come up with so far. He needed information from her apartment to guide him towards a suspect.

_They always find something _thought Booth.

As Booth headed to his car in the Hoover parking garage he could feel a presence behind him. He waited for the person to get close enough and then he turned around, ready to attack.

"Where the hell is my daughter?!" Max Keenan barked at Booth as he pushed him back into a nearby parked car.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6: Slipping into Darkness

"Where is Tempe?!" Max yelled into Booth's face. Max had been listening to the news in his car and almost rear-ended the car in front of him as he listened to the 12 o'clock news.

"In breaking news, World-Famous forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan has been abducted from her home. She was last seen yesterday around 8pm. She believed to be injured and in danger. Anyone with information that can help find Dr. Brennan is encouraged to call the FBI Tip Line at- - "

Max punched the dash with his fist as he shut the radio off. How could his daughter be missing and injured and no one call him. Where was her FBI boyfriend when she was being taken from her home? Max normally avoided federal buildings but today he raced to the Hoover parking lot to get some answers.

Their close proximity gave Max the chance to see the fear in Booth eyes. Booth wasn't afraid of Max, so it must be related to his daughter. Realizing this, Max stepped back from Booth.

Booth composed himself before answering Max. He couldn't bring himself to be angry at Max or his actions because in this moment, Max was a terrified father. A second time of impending fatherhood gave Booth a whole new perspective on the life choices of Max Keenan. How was he supposed to tell Max that his daughter was missing? How was he supposed to tell Max about his grandchild when both their life and their mother's was uncertain? How was he supposed to tell Max that he had failed to protect Bones and their unborn child? Booth took a deep breath and looked Max straight in the eye.

"I don't know Max. I'm sorry I didn't call. It's all just happened so fast. We had a fight last night and when I came over to apologize this morning she was gone and I found…." Booth hesitated and then debated whether or not to tell Max about the blood.

"What did you find Seeley? Be straight with me."

"Blood. There was a puddle of blood in her apartment. It's hers Max. The lab also found small pieces of her skull."

" Jesus Christ! Who did this to my Tempe? I'll kill them!"

"I don't know Max. There are no leads but I know she's still alive. We are going to find her."

"Let's go" Max said as he walked to Booth's passenger door.

"Where?" Booth asked as he climbed into the driver's seat. At this point he was willing to follow any lead. If anyone could help him find Bones, it was Max.

"I need to see her apartment. Whoever took Tempe had to have left something behind."

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Things were getting worse for Bones. The shivers had progressed and sweat rolled down her face. She could feel her heart rate slow and she started to have cramps.

_I'm losing the baby_ thought Bones. She started to sob into the pillow and hugged her arms around her stomach. She could feel herself ripping inside, but it wasn't physical. It was emotional ripping as her heart fell into a million pieces. She couldn't lose this baby. She didn't know she wanted a baby but the moment the stick turned pink she became a mother. She wanted her abductor to present themself so she could plead for her baby's life. She yelled out, begging.

"Hello? Please, I'm pregnant and I think something's wrong. Please don't kill my baby. Please"

Brennan felt weak. Her body was betraying her. She tried to stay awake, hoping her captor would come in. She focused all of her energy on keeping her heavy eyes open. But when the cramping became a sharp stabbing pain and she felt the wet blood between her legs, she gave into the heaviness and welcomed the numbness of being unconscious. If she was losing her baby, she didn't want to be awake. In her final moments of consciousness, she heard the door opening. Through barely open eyes she could make out a hooded figure rushing toward her and then she felt herself being lifted. Complete darkness took over and she felt like she was floating.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7: The Lead in the Shards

Booth knew he had to go in Bones' apartment to look for possible leads but he hesitated outside her door. It was now crisscrossed with "Crime Scene" tape. The horrible memories of the morning flooded back and Booth had to take a deep breath.

"Come on Booth. We need to find her now."

Booth tore the tape away and opened Bones' door, just like he had done hours ago. Inside, little numbered place cards marked evidence locations. The blood was still on the floor and Max couldn't bring himself to stay in the living room.

"I'll go check the bedroom," Max said as he quickly made his way down the hall.

Booth started looking at what the crime scene team had marked. He had been in such a rush this morning that he hadn't taken any time to look for evidence. Now he saw the signs of a struggle. The rug in the middle of the hallway was crooked and a corner was rolled up like something had been dragged across it. Then Booth realized Bones was probably dragged across it. He took another deep breathe and tried to imagine this was just another case involving a stranger, not the love of his life. He moved on down the hall and into the living room. The next numbered marker he found was a pile of glass. As he approached it he hoped it wasn't what the abductor used to hit Bones. It was a picture frame with a picture of him and Bones at Halloween. He had dressed as a squint and she was Wonder Woman. They hadn't been dating at the time but that picture of them together had always been one of his favorites. The glass in the frame had been shattered and two sides of the frame had splintered, like someone had thrown it to the ground. Booth looked all around the floor near the picture but there was no blood. If Bones was attacked in the hallway, how did the picture get shattered in the living room? Before Booth could give it much thought, Max called him back to Bones' bedroom.

"What'd you find Max?"

"The bastard was in her room."

Rage quickly filled Booth as he thought about the scum who had attacked and taken Bones being in her bedroom where she slept and they were together.

"How do you know that? The crime scene team didn't mention that."

"Look at the nightstand. That picture of Tempe and Angela is folded in half so that now it's just of Tempe. Now look at the bed. You say Tempe was attacked early this morning, so why is her bed made? And the blankets smell like some kind of chemical."

Booth couldn't believe he had missed all of this this morning. He had been so preoccupied with finding the pregnancy test that he had walked past the best lead they had. Booth had to stop self-loathing and focus on the new evidence. He leaned close to the bed and caught a whiff of ammonia.

"It smells like ammonia. I'll have Hodgins come down so he can analyze it. He should be able to tell us where to go from here. I can't believe I missed all of this."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, let's just find Tempe."

"Max, there's something else I need to tell you."

"What." Max voice held a hint of annoyance that Booth was holding back details. Max was the one who found the most promising leads, yet Booth felt the need to censor information.

"The reason I didn't see the bedroom clues this morning was because I was distracted by something I found."

"Just spit it out Seeley."

"Bones is pregnant. I found the test on her bathroom counter this morning. She must have just taken it last night. We had been fighting and I didn't know why, but now I see that she was freaking out about the pregnancy. You know I love her more than anything. I love this baby too. That's why we need to find her now."

Max's annoyance transformed from happiness at becoming a grandpa to fear for his pregnant daughter and back to anger at whoever had ruined what should be the happiest time of Tempe's life.

"Cam says the extra stress of a head injury on a pregnancy this early is a big threat for both Bones and the baby. That's why we have to find Bones today."

"Get that bug guy here now; I'm going to check in with an old friend who I think can help."


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8: The Delusion in the Deliveryman

Bones woke up to the rhythmic sound of a heartbeat. It took her a minute to realize it wasn't hers. She opened her eyes to find that she was no longer in the cold, concrete, windowless room. She was now in a stark white room, with linoleum floors, no windows and another pad locked door. Bones was in a twin bed with iron cast head and foot boards. She had an IV in her arm and was hooked up to a monitor. Seeing the medical equipment reminded her of the bleeding and cramps. Panicked, she wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her hands touched something hard and she looked to see that it was a fetal heart monitor. The beautiful sound she was hearing was the strong hummingbird paced heartbeat of her baby. She must be at least 6 weeks along or more if this was possible. For a moment Bones forgot about where she was and just got lost in the sound of her baby. She would survive this situation and she would make it back to Booth. She made a silent promise to the baby. Footsteps coming toward her brought Bones back to reality. She was about to come face to face with her abductor.

"Hello Temperance. I am so glad to see you awake. You gave me quite a scare."

She knew this guy! Jake had been her delivery man at the Jeffersonian for the past 5 years. They had started having small talk and were on a first name basis. He had asked her out on a date once but it was right before she went to Maluku so she turned him down. He was a handsome man, 6'3", muscular build, jet black hair with emerald eyes. She probably would have said no even if she weren't leaving the country because she always felt a little wary of Jake. He was always just a little too nice, or knew too much about her. He would chat her up on a Monday about a play she had gone to see the previous Saturday, but she never knew how he knew that'd she'd gone. Since they were only work associates, Bones chalked her discomfort around Jake to paranoia. At the present moment she felt like a fool. If she had mentioned even once how uneasy Jake made her feel to Cam or Booth both could have done something. Cam would arrange for a new delivery man. Booth would probably have done something threatening. She used to not like his overprotectiveness but now she was accustomed to and even liked the fact that he would always watch out for her and keep her safe.

Safe, something she didn't feel at the moment. Why was Jake holding her wherever they were? Why had he taken her from her home? What was he going to do with her?

"Jake, what's going on? Why are you doing this?"

"Oh Temperance, you know I have always wanted to be with you. And I know you want to be with me. I finally worked up the nerve to come to your house so we could finally be together, but then you disappointed me. I saw the picture of you and that man. I was so angry. I'm so sorry I hit you. You know I would never hurt you."

As Bones listened she realized Jake was delusional. He had built up this romance between them in his head. She chose her words carefully, as to not set him off like the picture did.

"I know you would never hurt me Jake. Did you put this IV in and hook me up to this monitor?"

"Yes. The baby was another disappointment. How could you be pregnant with another man's baby? When I first heard you say it I couldn't believe it. My Temperance would never betray me like that. But when you started to hemorrhage and I thought I would lose you I decided to forgive you. I vow to raise this baby like my own. This is our baby now." Jake walked closer and laid one hand on Bones' stomach and the other on her cheek.

Bones was thoroughly terrified now. The touch of Jake's hands on her made her want to cringe but for the safety of the baby she kept perfectly still.

"So is the baby okay now?"

"Yes, you and the baby are doing just great. I bandaged that boo-boo on your head so all you need to do is rest and take care of Jake Jr." Jake's smile as he talked about the baby was sinister. Bones knew he had every intention of keeping her locked up with him until this baby was born. She thought Booth would have found her by now. She had lost all sense of time but she would keep hoping Booth would be there any minute. He had never let her down before.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch.9: The Break in the Case

"Come on Hodgins, hurry up." Booth was wearing a track in floor at the Jeffersonian as he paced. Hodgins had taken samples from Bones' bed and was testing them for their chemical makeup. Booth could feel in his bones that this new clue would lead him to Bones.

"It's processing, I can't make it go faster."

Booth growled in response. It was now going on 48 hours since he had spoken to Bones. The more time that passed, the less likely he would find her alive.

"Booth, I've got something," called Hodgins from the platform.

"What is it?"

"The ammonia from Dr. Brennan's bed is specifically mixed compound used in industrial cleaners. This particular compound is different because has special additives that-"

"Get to the point!" Booth didn't have time for Hodgin's usual science drivel.

"This ammonia was specially made for the Jeffersonian. Me, Dr. Brennan and Cam are the only ones that have access to it."

"Why would Bones take that home?"

"She couldn't have. It's very expensive so Cam keeps it locked up. We have to log when, where and why we use it. Plus we've been out of it for a couple weeks. A delivery was supposed to bring it but-"

Booth cut Hodgins off again, "Delivery? Who does the deliveries here?"

"We always have everything delivered from the same lab supplier. Jake Filber has been doing our deliveries for years. Why?"

"I found a note from a "J" in Bones' trash but couldn't connect it to any cases. But now, I'm pretty sure this Jake took her. He formed a crush on her over the years, found out where she lived and took her. He's the only other person who would have access to the special ammonia." Booth was happy to finally have a suspect but felt like he had wasted time. If Bones had told him about the flowers or the card then he would have known to check into Jake first.

Booth whipped out his phone to call Max.

"Hey, it's Seeley. Find out everything you can about a Jake Filber. He's the one who took Bones."


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10: The House in Nowhere

Jake left Bones to sleep in peace. As soon as he left the room, her eyes flew open. She was kicking herself as she remembered the flowers she received a few weeks ago. She had just gotten back into her office after having lunch with Angela. A bouquet of roses sat on her desk. She wondered who they were from because Booth knew she didn't like roses. She picked up the card and as she read it she had to brace herself against the desk. J had to be Jake the delivery man. In anger she took the vase out of her office, and threw it into the Jeffersonian's incinerator. When she returned to her office she noticed the card was on the floor. She crumpled it up and threw it away. That day she was shaken and uneasy but then pregnancy symptoms started hitting her and she became preoccupied. She had meant to tell Booth but she didn't. Her instincts about Jake had been right all along and now she was paying the price for ignoring them.

Being mad at herself took all of the energy Bones had and she soon fell asleep. She dreamed that she was at home in bed with Booth. A bassinet sat at the foot of the bed and housed their baby. It was a perfect dream.

B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B&B

Max's friend had proved to be more useful than FBI and Jeffersonian resources. In a half hour, he had found Jake's arrest record, car registration and most importantly his address. Jake had been in trouble with the law before. He had 2 previous charges of harassment and 2 restraining orders against him. With every new detail Booth became more anxious about Jake's mental state. Both plaintiffs in the restraining orders stated that Jake had created relationships with them in his head and proceeded to harass them incessantly. The only thing that made him stop was when he started fixating on someone else. What caused even more worry was the fact that Jake hadn't been in any trouble since he started delivering to the Jeffersonian. He had been creating this delusional attachment to Bones for years. The pictures in her apartment are probably what set off his rage and why he hit her.

The supply company listed Jake's address in a rough part of D.C. It was a two story house near some train tracks. As Max and Booth raced down the street, they saw that Jake had no neighbors. No one to report suspicious behavior. If Max hadn't smelled ammonia, they might not have found this lead.

Booth parked the car a 100 meters from the house so Jake wouldn't see. He had to force himself to not charge through the door. Knowing that Jake was mentally unstable, Booth had to calmly make his way to Bones.

"Max I know you want to go in the house with me, but I need you to wait here for back up."

"Like hell I will. I'm going to go blow off the head of this Jake bastard."

"Max we don't have time for you to play cowboy. Just stay here." Booth pleaded. They were so close to getting Bones back; he couldn't chance Max's overzealousness to compromise anything.

"I'll give you 10 minutes and then I'm coming in."

"Fine." Booth took the compromise and started heading towards the house. As he approached he went to the side of the house. He could see the house had a basement and wondered if that was where Bones was. He made his way slowly farther down the side of the house, listening and watching for any disturbances inside. There was a window coming up and he decided to chance looking in. He saw a bed with medical monitors next to it. That had to be Bones!

He couldn't see Jake so he started to open the window so he could crawl inside. He eased the frame up and hoisted himself in. He quietly made his way to a sleeping Bones. She looked like hell. Her head was bandaged but blood still seeped through. Her hair was matted with dry blood. She was covered in sweat and was a white as a sheet. Then he heard the heartbeat. He saw the monitor around Bones' stomach and realized he was hearing their baby. He wanted to listen forever but there was no time. He gently caressed Bones' face to wake her up but she recoiled from his touch before she opened her eyes.

"Shh, it's okay Bones. It's me. I found you." Booth whispered.

Bones thought she was dreaming but she had to open her eyes to make sure. Instead of being alone in this room or being touched by Jake like she had thought, she saw Booth sitting on the edge of the bed. He was here to save her.

"Booth! I'm so happy you're here. Jake abducted me and I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would never get to tell you I'm pregnant and you're the father. I love you." Bones said in hurried whispers as she weakly sat forward to embrace Booth.

"I know, I know everything. We're going to be fine but right now I need to get you out of here. Can you stand?"

"No, even sitting up makes me dizzy." Bones decided not to tell Booth about almost losing the baby right now.

All of a sudden Jake burst through the door.

"Sweetie, who are you tal-, what the hell?"

Booth took his gun out and aimed it at Jake's chest.

"It's over Jake. The FBI are on their way to take you into custody. I'm taking Dr. Brennan out of here. If you're smart you'll stay right where you are as I come to handcuff you."

"Fine, I'll surrender" Jake said, producing his hands in front of him.

Booth walked cautiously over to him, not sure if he believed this quick surrender. He was right to doubt it because as soon as Booth got within reach, Jake head-butted him. Booth fell to the floor knocked out cold.

"No!" cried Bones. She couldn't believe she had come so close to being rescued only to have to watch Booth get incapacitated.

"Come on Temperance, we need to leave now." Jake said as he started pulling Bones to her feet. He started to remove the IV and the monitor.

Booth started to come to on the floor. His vision was blurry and as he looked at the bed he could only make out Jake doing something to Bones.

"No!" Bones screamed again. Then the heartbeats stopped. Booth could finally stand up and charged at Jake. He threw him to the floor and punched him repeatedly. This bastard just killed his baby. Bones was sobbing as Booth was beating Jake to death. Max appeared in the doorway and ripped Booth off of Jake. Max took over beating Jake as Booth went to Bones.

"I am so sorry Bones. I didn't keep you safe or the –"Booth's voice cracked at the next word—"baby." Booth buried his face into Bones' shoulder as tears streamed down.

"Booth, I think the baby's okay. Jake just detached the monitor."

"What?" Booth had assumed Bones screamed because Jake had done something to hurt her or the baby. Then he couldn't hear the heartbeat anymore. "You screamed."

"Because Jake knocked you out and he was trying to take me away again. You were here to take me home and he was going to take me away forever. It was too much."

Booth covered her mouth with his. He kissed her with enough passion to tell her everything was fine now. He had made it to her and now they would be together. When he pulled away between kisses, he just repeated "I love you, I love you, I love you."


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11: The Happiness in the Ending

Booth and Bones sat holding hands in the examination room at the hospital. They were waiting on the doctor to come in and check out Bones and the baby. The laceration on her head had already been stitched up. Every so often Booth would kiss Bones. He knew he would never stop looking for her but he honestly didn't know if he'd find her alive. He was planting a kiss on her stomach when the doctor walked in, so he quickly sat up.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Lee. I understand you've been through quite a lot recently Dr. Brennan. Why don't you tell me what happened so I can make sure we check everything that needs to be checked."

"I was knocked out and abducted approximately 36 hours ago. I have an open head wound that bled for hours. My abductor hooked me to an IV and a fetal heart rate monitor while I was with him. Oh yea," she looked at Booth," I'm pregnant. I had just found out the night before I was abducted."

"Do you have pain anywhere besides your head?"

Bones froze. She had yet to tell Booth about almost losing the baby. They had been through so much in the past few days, and now that they were together she didn't want to cause him anymore worry. But she knew for the baby's sake she needed to be completely honest.

"Well when I was with my captor, I had cramps and bleeding."

"What? You didn't say anything!" Booth said, his voice filled with fear.

Bones went on like she hadn't heard him.

"I passed out when the bleeding started and when I woke up I was hooked to an IV and the baby's heart rate sounded strong on the monitor." Bones couldn't bring herself to look at Booth. This was just another thing she had kept from him. She could feel the tension emanating from him.

"It sounds like it could have been the normal bleeding some women experience during pregnancy. To be safe I'm going to bring the ultrasound in and we'll take a look."

With that Dr. Lee left Booth and Bones alone in the room again. Bones tried to prepare herself for the response Booth had bottled up while the doctor was in the room.

"How could you not have told me that you almost lost the baby? We could have gotten here sooner, or they could have checked the baby immediately."

"I was so happy to be with you again and the heart rate sounded strong after the bleeding so I didn't want to worry you anymore."

"Bones, you can't keep secrets like this from me. First the pregnancy, and now this. I want to be honest with each other. I can handle the scary stuff, I promise. I would rather have all the cards on the table than be blindsided."

Bones couldn't stop the tears from sliding down her face. Booth seeing them felt like a complete ass. Here she had just gone through the most uncertain hours of life and he was yelling at her about not telling him something. Granted it was a very important something, but still he needed to cut her some slack. Booth immediately embraced Bones.

"Shh, don't cry Bones. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that you and this baby and Parker are my whole life. I need all of you to be complete."

"I'm so sorry Booth. I should have told you when I thought I was pregnant instead of avoiding you. I want to be honest with you, I love you. I need you in my life. I need this baby."

Booth continued to hold Bones and she held him right back. They stayed like this until Dr. Lee returned, rolling in the ultrasound.

"Are you kids ready to see your baby?"

Bones laid back on the table and rolled her shirt up. Booth stood beside her, holding her hand. They both stared at the screen waiting to see their baby. Dr. Lee squirted the cold gel on Brennan's stomach and started moving the transducer around. The screen lit up and the heartbeat filled the room. Booth and Bones looked in amazement at what they had created.

"Looks healthy. You seem to be about 7 weeks along. And there's one more thing."

Booth squeezed Bones' hand, silently telling her that whatever it was they would get through it together.

Dr. Lee pointed to the screen.

"Here's your baby, and here's their sibling. There are two babies."

"Twins." Booth and Bones said at the same time as they smiled at each other.


End file.
